It all comes down to this. Professional practice is the apex of the mountain of teaching standards. If I am committed to students and to student learning, if I am always engaging in professional learning to build my professional knowledge, and if I am regularly in dialogue with other teachers, both sharing and gaining ideas and resources, then I can be an effective teacher. This is my goal. This is my passion.
How I demonstrate professional practice
Effective professional practice involves effective assessment based on educational research. Assessments are meaningful to engage students and give them a context for their new knowledge and skills. These are called “alternative” assessments. Diagnostic assessments are used to find out what prior skills and knowledge each student has to build on, so that they have a basis for constructing meaning for the new information and skills presented. In addition, assessments should be ongoing to show student progress, as these learning skills tracking sheets allow.
I use appropriate pedagogy in my lessons. That means I teach for a variety of learning styles and intelligences, I plan for effective assessment, I provide cooperative learning opportunities including learning centres, I create integrated units for meaningful learning, I teach literacy skills through shared reading and think-alouds, and I make connections to the outside world and careers. Above all, I do my best to make learning fun!
- Learning Centres
- A Field Trip to a Musical
- An Integrated Unit
- An Integrated Unit Outline - A medieval village
- Teaching Media Literacy
- Shared Reading Textbook Literacy
To show that I am refining my professional practice through ongoing inquiry, dialogue, and reflection, I could include here any of the documents from the “ongoing professional learning” section.
